


Love Has Always Been Right Here

by LittleMissStark



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: ABO dynamics, Alpha James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Dont copy to another site, Each chapter is a different story, Fluff, M/M, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Omega Tony Stark, Rhodes family - Freeform, Rhodey and Pepper gossiping together about Tony, Tony Stark Has A Heart, mentions of nsfw, short one shots, will update tags as I add stories
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:21:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28927233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleMissStark/pseuds/LittleMissStark
Summary: Just a collection of ironhusbands fics I write. I'll update the tags as I upload. Each chapter is a different story.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Tony Stark
Comments: 3
Kudos: 42





	1. Retiring

When Rhodey was in his early thirties, he asked his Mama why she refused to sell their small Philly home to a bigger place deeper in the suburbs. He had wanted to give his family that, at least, with the money he made from the Air Force. A nice place for his parents, who gave him so much. 

Yet, Mama was adamant on the one story brick home with the small flower beds they’d all planted when Rhodey was fourteen, with the loud neighbors, and the music flowing up and down the streets even late at night. 

“This is my home, James,” she’d said back then. “And it's yours too. It always will be no matter how far away you go. You will always have a home full of love to return to. Don’t you ever forget that.”

Now, lying back on a blanket in his childhood backyard right beside the roaring fire pit, Rhodey remembered what Mama said all those years ago. He looked over at her now, all gray hairs and smile lines and wrinkles while roasting marshmallows with Lila, and felt a swell of love and gratitude. No matter where the fight took him, the little brick house in Philly would be here for him. Mama made sure of that.

He remembered the days after Dad’s passing. He remembered the days after Jeannette’s. For Mama, whose heart and soul belonged to her family, loss was crippling. She was the strongest, though -- the most forgiving despite the world’s cruelty. 

_ Despite my own cruelty,  _ he thought morosely, thinking back to the years of silence between him and his sister -- the years he could have helped her,  _ saved  _ her. 

He watched Lila, her twinkling, intelligent eyes and bright, luminous smile. Jeannette was with her in the way she teased, in the way she laughed, and in the way she led the world with her fiery spirit and stubborn grit. She was with her through her wit, her artistic talent, and her sweet singing. Lila, his beautiful, perfect niece, now his adopted daughter, was everything and more to Rhodey. She was all he had left of his baby sister.

He prayed Jeannette was looking down on them now. He prayed that she forgave him. 

“Uncle Jimmy!” Lila’s voice startled him out of his thoughts. “Want some smores?” 

Rhodey smiled warmly. “Of course.”

“Stop thinking so loud over there, and talk to us, why don’t you?” Mama gently scolded. Rhodey chuckled, then sat up as best he could using his arms -- he’d taken his leg braces off to relax without them -- and accepted the oozing marshmallow mess Lila handed to him on a paper plate. “How’ve you been feeling, sweetheart?” 

“Better. My arms got stronger ever since the whole… accident, but you know, the leg braces make things a lot easier. Tony’s been a great help.” 

“Mmm, he hasn’t been over to visit in such a long time. Bring him over! I miss him.” 

“He still loves the hell out of you, Mama, don’t you worry.”

“He better.” Lila giggled at that.

“Oh you bet he does. He’s taken up hovering over Lila and I as a new hobby now that he’s officially retiring.” 

“Oh, so you’re retiring together,” Mama said, raising an eyebrow and winking at Lila. Rhodey narrowed his eyes at the two of them, catching the obvious inside joke between them. 

“After I told him I was going to retire to take care of Lila, he did decide to follow suit, yes.”

“Because?” He rolled his eyes at her teasing tone.

“Because we’re both  _ tired,  _ Mama.”

“Boy,” she laughed. “You know better than to lie right out your teeth to your mother.”

“I’m not lying,” Rhodey said nonchalantly with a shrug. “We’ve both been through the wringer this past decade, and we’ve had enough. We just want to invest more time in Lila and… and in each other.” Rhodey cleared his throat, pointedly avoiding Mama’s raised eyebrows and smirk. 

“Tony promised to work with me more in the lab! He’s going to show me how he made the Iron Man suit,” Lila said, animated with excitement. 

“As long as the two of you aren’t blowing things up together, I’m fine. I’m way too old for all of that foolishness all over again. MIT was enough for me--”

“You know I just want you to be happy, James,” Mama cut him off with a warm voice. “And I think Tony has made you happy for the last 30 years.”

Rhodey met her tired, but kind eyes and took her hand. “Yeah,” he said softly, giving a soft smile. He didn’t know whether he was making an admission or simply affirming Mama’s love for him, but that was something he didn’t want to worry about right now. 

“Uncle Jimmy’s in lo-ove,” Lila teased, giggling. 

Rhodey pointed at her. “Hush you, and eat your smores.” 

“I’ve always liked Tony,” she continued. Rhodey rolled his eyes. “I think you two are a great match.”

“All right, all right, pack it up, little miss.”

“I’m just  _ saying…”  _

Rhodey laid back with a groan, accepting defeat in the two against one debate. 

“Look at him, being all dramatic,” Mama whispered, but not really. 

“Stop gossiping about me, Mama.”

“He doesn’t know a good thing if he’s been pining for it for 30 years.”

“ _ Mama!”  _

Lila and Mama dissolved into laughter, and Rhodey resolved to hide his face behind his hands and pretend he wasn’t blushing. And when they began humming the tune to “Single Ladies,” he  _ definitely _ made sure to pretend he wasn’t listening. 


	2. Stark Was My Father's Name

When Rhodey jokes about Tony taking his last name after they get married, he was expecting Tones to chuckle and brush it off.

But when Tony says, “I’d do it in a heartbeat,” Rhodey stops mid step and looks at his fiancé with a raised eyebrow.

“You’re telling me you’d give up the Stark name and legacy for little old me?”

Tony gives a shy smile and looks down, pink blooming in his cheeks. “Stark was my father’s name, and Howard never protected me the way you always did.”

Hearing Tony’s soft, unapologetic admittance makes Rhodey’s heart ache and flutter at the same time. Gratitude swells in his chest at the thought of Tony knowing just how much Rhodey loves him, and the feeling compels him to press a kiss onto his fiancé’s forehead.

“Anthony Edward Rhodes,” Rhodey breathes, resting his forehead against Tony’s. “Has a nice ring to it.”

They kiss, thirty years and more of devotion mingling in the air between them with no sign of ever drying up or slowing down.

“Yeah,” Tony agrees as they pull apart. “It does.”


	3. Quiet New Year's

_ This is the most perfect place in the world.  _

Lila and Mama were bustling around in the kitchen, working quickly to have all the baked goods ready before the ball began to drop to ring in the new year. The TV was playing softly in the background with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen getting drunker and drunker as the minutes ticked on. There was a simmering fire in the fireplace, which kept the Rhodes living room nice and cozy. 

Rhodey wiggled his fuzzy sock covered toes and snuggled a little more into his sweater. Nothing could beat the safety, security, and love permeating his mother’s home. The walls clad with family and childhood pictures, the sweet smells from the tiny kitchen, and his father’s favorite chair in the corner of the living room all greeted him like bear hugs when he stepped through the front door. 

“Hey platypus.” Rhodey smiled as Tony joined him on the couch. He too was wearing all things soft and comfortable. Mama wouldn’t have had it any other way. 

“Hey Tones.” Rhodey pressed a small kiss on Tony’s lips. This thing they had… it was still so new. This precious love they’ve been carrying for decades should have felt newer-- more exciting. Strange, even. But it didn’t. 

It felt familiar. 

It almost felt like the wringer had spit them out at the same time so their sorry asses could get it together and finally build something good. 

They fell into a comfortable silence, waiting for the twenty minutes left to be counted before the ball made its way down. So, of course, Rhodey decided that Tony’s lap should be put to use as a pillow in the meantime. 

Tony chuckled when Rhodey made himself comfortable and stole one of his hands to hold in Rhodey’s own, but he didn’t protest. They laced their fingers together as the sweet aromas from the kitchen reached their part of the house. With his other hand, Tony gently brushed Rhodey’s head, settling him into a peace he thought he would never have a chance to know. 

_ This is the most perfect place in the world.  _

The thought would always ring true, even in the new year. 


	4. Skater Boys

“You remember how to roller skate?” 

Tony paused momentarily right as his coffee mug touched his lips. He took a sip, frowning, before he asked “Why?” 

Rhodey was maintaining his poker face pretty well, in Tony’s opinion, but he could recognize the mischievous glint from those beautiful eyes a mile away. “Just say whether you remember or not.”

Tony squinted at his boyfriend’s subtle smirk. “I don’t think I _ forgot _ … Okay, you are radiating suspicion right now, and I don’t like it. Spit it out.”

The supremely preserved straight face dissolved into a wide smile. “Natasha’s birthday party is at a roller rink this year.”

“You’re kidding,” Tony deadpanned as he tried to imagine the one and only Black Widow skating elegantly past middle schoolers on a playdate. After a second, though, the thought didn’t seem as crazy as it first did because it was Natasha: arguably the most competent, multi-skilled of them all. Of fucking course she would kill it on roller skates.

“It was her one true dream, so we are all obligated to indulge her.”

“What happened to keeping things low-key?”

Rhodey laughed, wrapping his arm around Tony’s waist from behind and planting a kiss on Tony’s cheek. “Well what’s got you all feisty all of a sudden? I thought you remembered how to skate?” 

“I am a fucking star on the rink, actually, so you can suck it.”

“Mmhmm… and when you start to fall, you can always hold my hand.”

“I will do no such thing. In fact, if you even offer me a hand, I’ll bite it off.”

* * *

“Rhodey, help!” 

In this moment in time, Tony felt like one of those main characters in a movie that did the *record scratch* ‘Yup, that’s me. You’re probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.’ And while Tony was fully aware that it was his inability to admit that he had absolutely zero to negative knowledge on roller skating which caused him to currently be hurtling towards a wall at full speed with no way of stopping, he would rather become a stain on the floor than verbally confirm it. 

Fortunately, right before his face became art decor for the dingy roller rink with the stinky rental skates, Tony felt a sharp tug on his arm and collided against a solid weight. There was the smell of balsam and everything good in the world… “Thank God for you, Honeybear.”

“If you’d bit my hand off, then who’d be heroically saving you from causing your own demise?”

Tony smiled with pursed lips, doing his best to hide his embarrassment. “Shut your face, Colonel, before you end up banished to the couch.” 

“Oh, well that’s no fun, is it? How am I supposed to get that good-good if I’m all lonely on the couch?” 

Rhodey tugged him again, gentler this time, until Tony was right in front of him, ass against groin.

“You’re really feeling me up like this in public?” Tony asked in a low voice as Rhodey’s hands trailed down to rest on Tony’s hips. 

“There’s no one here but the Avengers, and they’re all idiots. Plus, Pepper and Happy have seen worse.” Tony melted under Rhodey’s touch and swooned at the heat of Rhodey’s lips against his neck.

“Mmm, good point.” A tiny gasp slipped past his lips as Rhodey pulled him closer against his body. 

They skated in silence for a little bit, letting the modern eighties inspired music get louder in their ears and getting mesmerized by the changing colors from the cheap disco ball. 

They only jolted out of their trance when Natasha and Bruce zipped past them, missing them only narrowly, shrieking and laughing like banshees. 

“She seems like she’s having fun,” Tony said in between laughter. 

“She sure does.”

Tony yelped as Rhodey sped them up and spun them around like clumsy ballerinas. And even though they almost ended up colliding with the wall, Tony never felt more alive and more in love.


	5. Good Gossip

“What’re you thinking?” Pepper asked, turning her head lazily towards Rhodey. The sun had the both of them turning into useless cats snoozing in a patch of daylight, and paired with the gentle rhythm of the ocean waves, they were as good as two lumps on beach towels. 

“Hmm?” Rhodey hummed, turning down the music on his speaker just a little. He descended out of the trance Coltrane put him in slowly before remembering what Pepper had asked. “Nothing, really. Feels good, y’know? Just having nothing on my mind.”

“Haha, yeah. You can say that again. No threats to humanity, just good fucking food and hot sex.”

“Amen, woman.” Rhodey reached an arm behind his head to use as a pillow and moaned happily when the sun peeked out from behind a cloud, showering him in warmth. 

“Speaking of hot sex…” Pepper trailed off, moving her gaze to Tony, who was floating on his back not too far out in the ocean. “Don’t you love it when he gets whiny?”

Rhodey laughed, pushing his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose. “What’s gotten into  _ you _ , Pep?” 

“Some peace of mind and time on my hands, that’s what. And listen, even though it’s been almost a solid decade since Tony and I have dated, I can confirm that the sex was excellent.” Rhodey snorted at that. 

“I can attest to that.”

“Yeah?”

“For sure. He’s fine as hell with an ass that won’t quit. I get treated real good in the bedroom.” 

Pepper giggled as she raised her wine to her lips. 

The two of them sat in relative silence for a few minutes, getting back into the jazz, before Pepper piped up again. “So when are you putting a ring on it?”

Rhodey’s heart did a quick flip-flop, and he looked back at her, eyes blown wide behind his sunglasses. “What?”

“Don’t play dumb, Jim, you’re not that slick.”

Rhodey’s lips slid upwards in a smirk. “Tonight,” he said softly. He thought back to the conversation he and Tony had just a couple weeks ago. They’d been joking around, but… when Tony said that he wanted to take Rhodey’s name… well, to put it in a simple way, he knew it was time. 

The two friends did nothing but share a silent smile, and when they saw Tony starting to walk back up towards them, they went back to their dozing. 


	6. milk and honey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has abo dynamics with omega tony and alpha rhodey. Mentions of mpreg.

Rhodey heard the soft padding of Tony’s footsteps heading towards Rhodey’s office and decided to put down the paperwork he was headaching over for the night. 

“Hey sweet,” Rhodey said softly, leaning into the arms that wrapped around his shoulders from behind. He felt a kiss press against the side of his head and smiled. When he swiveled around in his chair, there Tony was, wrapped up in a lavender cardigan and wearing his reading glasses. 

One could tell visibly how age and experience has changed Tony, quieted him, albeit in a good way. While he was beautiful in his loudness, his eagerness, and his ostentatiousness in his past, there was a different kind of beauty in Tony’s vulnerable domesticity. It was in the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, the weatheredness in his deft hands, and the gentleness in his slower movements. Rhodey knew many versions of Tony -- from the skinny to the muscled to the soft -- and he loved them all infinitely.

“How’s it going with passing over the baton?”

Rhodey chuckled wryly. “It’s a pain in the behind, for sure. You never really know how much you used to do before you see it all on paper.”

Tony hummed in response. 

The Avengers were being passed down once more into the leadership of Natasha Romanoff, who was taking over Rhodey’s role as co-leader alongside Steve Rogers. Pepper had been more than elated to hear that her girlfriend was going to become one of the most important people in the world, and Natasha had become close enough to them all over the past decade and more for Rhodey to ensure that she was the perfect fit. 

They had all watched Nat grow up, in a way. Her getting the baton entrusted to her was their version of seeing a young woman reach her full potential, both professionally and as a human being. 

“Well, at least the end result will be worth it all, right?” Tony asked, offering an outstretched hand.

Rhodey groaned dramatically as he took the hand and got up, which elicited an eye roll from Tony’s end. “You bet I’m excited to retire. I can’t be doing all that superhero nonsense anymore. These legs aren’t what they used to be.” He laughed at his own joke, and Tony humored him with a smile and shook his head. 

Even though it had been years since the quote-unquote ‘Civil War,’ no one continued to deal with the repercussions of that day as severely as Rhodey, whose legs and spine never fully recovered from that fall. Tony tended to beat himself up over it, and that broke Rhodey’s heart more often than not. Yet, Rhodey liked to think that some good came out of that event. Stark Industries now had a state of the art prosthetics program which evolved every day to help disabled people from every walk of life, Rhodey became the founder of a charity aimed to help children with disabilities which he based in Philly, his hometown, and, his favorite consequence, his arms became strong as hell. That last part Tony seemed to enjoy a lot, so it was a win-win for them both.

They made their way to the living room, Rhodey swatting Tony’s ass and keeping his hand there. “I’ve loved you for thirty years, and I’ve never gotten tired of this,” Rhodey said, squeezing. 

“And you’ve never missed a chance to remind me, or  _ other people _ for that matter.” 

They laughed together, remembering Steve’s high blush when Rhodey swatted Tony’s ass in front of him that one time they caught Steve stealing a glance. 

“Here, sit on the couch, I wanna show you something.” Tony steered his husband towards their couch, where Rhodey found two steaming mugs of tea and a honey jar on the coffee table. The ‘Honeybear’ nickname didn’t come from nowhere, after all. Rhodey took a seat, relaxing his limbs and settling into the soft cushions while Tony shuffled into their bedroom. 

Tony came back with a small box in hand and an envelope. “What’s that, Tones?” Rhodey asks while stirring a dollop of honey into his tea. 

“Before I show you this,” Tony said, curling up beside Rhodey, “remember when we kinda talked about what we’d do once we retire? All those years ago after… y’know?” His eyes flit to Rhodey’s braced legs. 

“Yeah. You said you wanted to move somewhere quiet so you can relearn how to play the piano like your mom did.” They accomplished that, seeing as they now lived in a cozy beachside Malibu home with a grand piano in the family room. “You said you wanted to go back to living by the shore because you missed California.”

“I did.” Tony flashed his megawatt smile. “And you said you wanted a boat to sail out into the ocean whenever you wanted.”

“Which you bought me for my birthday and I still haven’t used.”

Tony laughed. “I won’t hold it against you. You’re a procrastinator, despite what everyone thinks.”

“Mmm, only you know that about me. And maybe Pepper.”

“Yeah,” Tony agreed softly.

There was a beat of silence. “I remember you saying you wanted to spend your days dancing and singing and building like a little kid,” Rhodey continued, a hint of wistfulness in his words. They’ve accomplished that nearly every night successfully.

“And that’s when you said you wanted a family.” Rhodey perked up at that, turning his head back towards his husband, his Omega. “And that you wanted to do all of those things too, but as a father dancing with his Omega and his children.” 

Rhodey blinked and let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. “You rolled your eyes back then.” 

“But I’m not anymore.” 

He didn’t even register the tears welling in his eyes until they spilled over, which they did the second Tony opened the box to reveal a positive pregnancy test. Rhodey took the test in his hands. “Is this real?” he asked, voice quivering. 

Tony could only nod because he was wiping tears too. Then, he opened the envelope and showed Rhodey a sonogram. He could just make out the tiny lump shaped like a baby.  _ Their  _ baby. 

“I found out two weeks ago, but I wanted to go to the doctor’s to make sure. I- I didn’t think I could get pregnant, but it- it happened. And here we are. I’m just over twelve weeks, and--”

Rhodey could only halt the rambling with a deep kiss, a kiss that became kind of messy amongst the tears, and also sloppy because they were both still so shaken. He couldn’t quite describe the feeling in his heart, but all he could put into words if he had to was that he was so, so happy and so incredibly grateful. 

“Thank you,” was all he could whisper as they pulled apart from the kiss, letting their breaths mingle. “I love you so much, sweet.”

“I love you Alpha.” Tony rarely called Rhodey his Alpha, but the few times he did were to voice that he felt Rhodey’s protection, his gentleness, and his devotion. 

Rhodey stood up and lifted Tony into his arms (the extra muscle coming in handy), spinning them around in joy. He whooped as Tony yelped in surprise before the both of them dissolved into their happiness. 

“Wait ‘till we tell Mama,” Rhodey said, his face hurting from how hard he was smiling. 

“She’s going to  _ scream _ .” 

And when they did tell her the next morning over video call, that’s exactly what she did. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos always appreciated! On Tumblr with the same name.


End file.
